


Now That I See You

by kay_emm_gee



Series: the kids aren't alright (The 100 tumblr prompts) [65]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Tangled (2010) Fusion, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-06
Updated: 2015-12-06
Packaged: 2018-05-05 09:08:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5369690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kay_emm_gee/pseuds/kay_emm_gee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: I would love nothing more than a Bellarke Tangled AU.</p>
<p>Summary: Clarke, the rebel princess turned thief, was just looking for a quick place to hide, but now she's tangled up in a stranger's hair--literally. Her only way to freedom is to take Octavia, and her stubborn brother Bellamy, to go see Arcadia's lanterns. Along the way, she realizes it's not only things that can be stolen--kiss and hearts can be too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Now That I See You

**Author's Note:**

> Title from I See The Light.

“I don’t like this. At all. Are you sure you tied it tight enough?”

“Yes! And we couldn’t just keep her in the closet, Bell. We need to find out what she wants.”

_What I want is for my head not to feel like it’s going to explode_ , Clarke thought blearily as she regained consciousness. Keeping her eyes closed, she carefully shifted to test her surroundings as the two voices–one high, one deep–continued to argue. Quickly she figured out she was bound to a chair, by some very odd type of restraints, silky and multi-stranded. 

“She’s awake!” The higher voice hissed, and Clarke blinked her eyes open, figuring her time was up. A girl, brunette with fierce eyes, and an older boy, also brunette with a smattering of freckles across his face, glared at her. The boy stood protectively in front of the girl, shielding her, though she wielded a large frying pan with such surety that Clarke would guess she could defend herself without help.

“Is this usually how you greet guests?” She deadpanned, stifling a groan as pain shot through her temples.

“Intruding guests, yes,” the boy snapped.

“Who are you?” The girl asked, only a step behind the boy as they approached warily. 

“Clarke,” she rasped, figuring as isolated as these two were, they wouldn’t know of her and her reputation–the rebel princess who had abandoned her title after her father’s ‘accidental’ death for a life on the road, turning thief when injustice needed to be rectified, or if she was hungry. “Clarke Griffin.”

“How did you find us?”

“Why does it matter?” Her glance flicked down the both of them, and she swallowed when she realized the girl’s hair was unbelievably long, and in fact was what was restraining her.

“You can’t have Octavia,” the boy growled, pushing the girl behind him even further. “I won’t let you take my sister.”

“Bellamy,” the girl grumbled. “Stop that.”

“I’m not interested in your sister,” Clarke sighed. “I’m only interested in getting out of your hair–literally.” 

“Sure,” the boy–Bellamy–scoffed.

“Look, I was in a bind, okay? There were, some, ah, people chasing me and I just needed somewhere to hide out. This seemed like a good place.” 

Bellamy glared at her skeptically, though Octavia seemed more curious than anything.

“You’re a thief, aren’t you?” 

Clarke considered Octavia carefully; maybe she had underestimated her knowledge of the outside world. “I don’t steal things.”

“Then what’s with the crown in your bag?”

“None of your business,” Clarke snapped. It had been the one thing from her past she had taken with her, because her father had given it to her, made by his own hand, on her sixteenth birthday. 

“Answer the question,” Bellamy demanded, placing his hands on the arms of her chair and leaning over her intimidatingly. 

Except she didn’t feel all that intimidated, despite the suspicion in his eyes and the determined set of his frown. Instead, she felt impressed by his protectiveness and couldn’t help but grin up at him. He was like a teddy bear that was trying to be a grizzly; it was sort of cute, to be honest. His stare narrowed as she continued to smile brightly at him, and she didn’t miss the small hitch of breath when she inched a fraction closer to his already very near face.

“I don’t steal things,” she repeated, enunciating every syllable. “I redistribute.”

Bellamy just raised his eyebrows, pushing back with a sigh when Octavia snorted in reluctant amusement. 

“So you’re from Walden?” Octavia asked.

“O, don’t.”

“Shut up, Bell,” Octavia hissed, the hurriedly continued, “So do you know what the lights are for?” 

Clarke cocked her head. “The lights?”

“These lights.” Octavia bounced over to one of the paint-covered walls, gesturing at a night scene where dozens of yellow blobs floated on the horizon.

“Those are the lanterns for the missing Arcadian prince and princess. My fam–the Walden royal family sends them up every year in solidarity of our neighbors, to mourn their loss.”

“You know where the lights are then! You can take me to them.”

“O,  _no.”_

_“_ Mom’s gone for three more days, Bell! This might be my only chance.”

“We’re not leaving this tower.”

“ _You_  may not be, but I am! Stay here with your boring books for all I care. I want to see the lanterns, just once. I’ll come straight back, I promise.”

Bellamy huffed, folding his arms over his chest. Octavia did the same, and Clarke watched them in amusement as they stared each other down.

“Do I get a say in this?” She asked drily and the siblings startled, as if they had forgotten her entirely. 

“If you take me, I’ll give your stash back,” Octavia pleaded.

“I’ll give you your stash back if you promise  _not_  to take her,” Bellamy countered immediately, expression dour.

Octavia just whacked his thigh lightly with the frying pan. “Don’t listen to him. Besides, I’m the one that hid your pack. He doesn’t even know where it is.”

“Sorry,” Clarke said, shrugging. “I’m with Octavia then.”

Squealing, the girl rushed forward and began untying her as her brother glowered in the background. As Clarke expected, however, when she and Octavia prepared to leave, he grudgingly joined them.

“This is a terrible idea,” he complained when the two of them were on the ground outside, looking up as Octavia hesitated joining them.

“Maybe,” Clarke teased. “But it’s also fun.”

“You know how to have fun, princess?”

She jerked her gaze towards him suspiciously– _did he know who she really was_ –but he was just staring at his sister, fear and a little glimmer of triumph written on his face.

The triumph overpowered the fear and grew into joy when he watched his sister run and cartwheel over the meadow surrounding their tower, finally free. Clarke’s stomach fluttered at the sight of him watching Octavia so fondly.

“I still think this is a terrible idea,” he grumbled as they finally headed out on their journey.

Octavia sighed as she skipped by. “Shut up, Bell.”

“Yeah, shut up, Bell,” Clarke echoed, grinning as Bellamy scowled at her.

* * *

“This is such a terrible idea!” Bellamy screamed as they raced through the reservoir canyon, dodging pylons and barrels and puddles.

“Not helping!” Clarke yelled back, out of breath. The castle guards pursuing them weren’t far behind, and they couldn’t waste energy arguing, though that was all she and Bellamy seemed to do since leaving the tower, much to his sister’s constant chagrin. 

“Duck!” Lincoln–one of the bar ruffians who had taken a shining to Octavia–shouted.

Clarke followed his orders, and an arrow whizzed by her ear. She cursed, glancing to make sure no one had been hit. Luckily, they were all fine for the moment.

Things didn’t stay fine for long though, as the pursuit led to release of the dam and the four of them stuck in a caved-in tunnel with water rising quickly around them.

“I’m sorry,” Clarke gasped, her shins now wet. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea they tracked me this far.”

“You couldn’t have known,” Octavia replied. “Anyways, if we hadn’t left the tower, we wouldn’t be in this position either, so we’re all at fault.” 

“We can find a way out,” Bellamy insisted. “There’s got to be a way out.”

They searched and searched, but soon the water was up to their chests. Octavia leaned into Lincoln’s side as he wrapped an arm around her. Clarke glanced at Bellamy, who was already looking despairingly at her. 

“Sorry, princess,” he rasped. Under the water, she felt his fingers brush hers.

She choked out a laugh, figuring it was now or never. “It’s Your Highness, actually.”

“Really? You’re getting technical with me now?”

“No, I mean–I’m a Griffin. Like the Walden Griffins. I’m their daughter, crown princess of Walden.”

Bellamy’s eyes widened, but his hand didn’t move away. Instead, he just laced their fingers together. He squeezed, and it felt like he had a grip on her heart instead, because it pinched painfully from his pressure and the direness of their situation.

“I have magic hair that glows when I sing,” Octavia sniffled.

“What?” Clarke and Lincoln asked in shock.

Octavia repeated herself, a bit defiantly this time, and Bellamy gasped.

“O, sing!”

“What–oh!”

Clarke didn’t know how it happened, but as soon as Octavia’s voice rang out in the small space, a reddish brown light filled the cavern, illuminating the water below them. Not a minute too soon either, because then the water was above their heads. With the new light, they were able to find the elusive source of the draining current and eventually dug their way out. When they surfaced in the river, they gasped for air, weakly paddling towards the shore.

“Your hair glows,” Lincoln wheezed as they hauled themselves out of the water. “It  _glows.”_

_“Why_  does it  _glow_?” Clarke added, looking between the siblings incredulously.

Bellamy and Octavia exchanged a loaded look, and then the younger Blake sighed. 

“Give me your hand, Lincoln. Yes, I saw that it was bleeding. I’ll show you.”

She did show them, and Clarke had a million questions, all of which Octavia answered gracefully. Soon, though, as night fell, Octavia nodded off, as did Lincoln, and Clarke was left awake, along with Bellamy who was keeping watch. 

“She never left that tower, not once?” She asked finally, quietly.

The fire in front of them crackled, and Bellamy stared at it pensively.

“My mother–she was afraid someone would take advantage of Octavia. Kidnap her, coerce her, use the power for something bad.”

“You didn’t have to stay. But you did.”

“My sister, my responsibility.”

He said it reflexively, almost without thought, and Clarke didn’t know whether to smile or grimace. It was a heavy weight he carried, and she almost felt guilty for thinking her own royal responsibilities had been too much for her to handle.

“So you’re a princess, huh?” He asked, sliding her a glance out of the corner of his eye.

“I was.”

“Food too rich? Beds too comfy? Jewels too heavy?”

“Father too dead. Mother too controlling. Marriage too imminent.”

Bellamy winced. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not.”

“You don’t regret leaving home?”

“Do you?”

He glanced at her again, and her stomach rolled nervously, because the way he looked at her made her warm all over. 

“No,” he said slowly. “No, I don’t.”

She ducked her head and smiled. “Me either.” 

* * *

That warm feeling in her stomach didn’t go away, only grew. It bloomed as they snuck their way into the city and his hands clutched her waist tightly when he lowered her over the wall, expanding when she watched him braid his sister’s hair with flowers. It spread to her chest when she handed him a book she had lifted off a stall and he smiled broadly at her, and it burned inside her when his arm slipped around her back to twirl her around during the festival dance.

It didn’t weave its way into her heart, though, until they were on the boat in the middle of the lake, watching the lanterns swirl around them. Octavia’s delighted laughter echoed in the night, and the faint strains of music from the shore mixed smoothly with her happy exclamations. 

“Thank you.”

Clarke blinked the lantern light from her eyes as she turned to look at Bellamy.

“For taking us here,” he clarified, his cheeks slightly reddening as she scooted closer on the bench. “It means a lot to Octavia. And to me.”

“Mm, and what do I get for my help?”

She felt his breath on her lips as he answered. “What do you want, princess?”

She huffed out a laugh before pressing her mouth to his, stealing a kiss. She was a thief, after all. 

It was careful and tender, but then his hands cupped her face, tilting her head further back, and the pace changed. He kissed her with urgency, with fervor, and she almost smiled before matching his intensity.

“Now there’s something I thought I’d never see.”

They broke apart, grinning sheepishly at an amused Octavia and Lincoln.

“Still think this is a terrible idea?” Octavia asked with gleeful satisfaction.

“Shut up, O,” Bellamy grumbled.

“Yeah, shut up, O,” Clarke echoed, smiling as Bellamy wrapped his arms around her to pull her back into his chest.

* * *

“Let me go!” Clarke shouted, but her voice was muffled by the gag.

“No can do, Your Highness,” the guard in front of her called over his shoulder. “Now that we’ve found you, we need to escort you back to the Walden palace.”

Clarke struggled against the two guards holding her, desperation filling her. Bellamy and Octavia must think she abandoned them, and she couldn’t let that stand. She wouldn’t go back to her old life, not now, not like this.

It was to no avail, though, because days later, she was at the palace, being embraced by her mother. Her throat closed up, because she had missed her, but it didn’t change anything. She didn’t belong here anymore, not when her heart was somewhere else. They kept her under lock and key, however, and Clarke grew more and more belligerent as she tried to find a way out.

Her way out actually came to her, though, when Anya and the other bar ruffians showed up on her chamber balcony one night, grinning slyly in the dark. 

“Heard the famous Griffin needed a prison break,” Anya taunted.

“I would’ve found my own way,” Clarke sniped, though she shook the woman’s hand thankfully when she extended it. 

It took them little time to repel down the castle walls and reach the horses waiting for them at the gate. Clarke parted with them shortly after, tearing through the forest and straight for the siblings’ tower. When she reached it, she called out, and Octavia’s hair came tumbling down. 

“Octavia! Bella–” Clarke’s shout cut off into a cry as pain sliced at her abdomen and two familiar voices protested fearfully.

“No!”

“Clarke!”

Sucking in a pained breath, Clarke collapsed to the ground, clutching at the blood leaking from the wound at her side. Wildly, she glanced up, seeing a restrained Bellamy and Octavia across the room and a tall, cruel-looking blonde woman towering above her.

“You won’t steal what’s mine,” the woman hissed, then strode over to the siblings.

“I’ll kill you, Diana,” Bellamy shouted. “I swear.”

“Ah ah,” the woman taunted. “Remember, if you want your sister safe, you’ll come quietly.”

Bellamy struggled more fiercely against his bindings, glancing angrily, fearfully between his sister and Clarke. Her vision blurred, with tears and black spots, and she wanted to call out to him that it wasn’t worth it,  _she_ wasn’t worth it. He belonged with his sister. She couldn’t get in the way of that. So she caught his eye and shook her head. 

“Let me go,” she rasped at him, twitching as the pain sunk deeper into her muscles.

“Let me heal her!” Octavia shouted at the woman. “Please, let me heal her. I’ll go with you, anywhere you want, just let me heal her. For Bellamy.  _Please.”_

Diana wavered for a minute, then sighed. “Fine. If it means you’ll come quietly.”

“Like hell we will,” Bellamy growled, but Octavia instead agreed.

In a flash, Octavia was by her side, leaning over the wound. Clarke glanced over at Bellamy, at his grimace and pained eyes. She couldn’t let them do this, not for her. Her hand inched towards her belt, and as Octavia leaned further over her middle, Clarke unsheathed the dagger. With one quick movement, she gathered Octavia’s hair and sliced clean through the locks. 

Octavia cried out in surprise, as did Bellamy, though Diana’s despairing, pained shrieks took over as she writhed around the tower room and finally out the window. 

“What did you do?” Octavia cried out, angrily, staring down at Clarke with her now shoulder-length hair. 

Then Bellamy was there too, despair in his eyes as he caught her hand. “Why, princess?”

“Your sister, my responsibility,” she choked out.

Octavia let out a quiet sob, squeezing her other hand. Bellamy leaned down and knocked his forehead against hers.

“So you make the rules now?” He whispered against her mouth.

“Yeah. I do whatever the hell I want.” 

He laughed weakly, and the last thing she saw was his brown eyes staring at her lovingly, sadly before everything went black. 

It was dark and warm, and she felt weightless. Then a whisper in her ear tickled– _Clarke_ –and there was a sharp pinprick in her chest. It grew, hot and molten, like a firebrand stabbing her. She gasped from the pain, her eyes flying open as she heard her name called again.

“Clarke!”

There was a flash of red-brown light, and then she saw Bellamy.

“We meet again,” she whispered, but his mouth was on hers before she could say anything else. 

* * *

As soon as Clarke could stand, they left the tower behind for good. When she asked where they were going to go, she was surprised when they said Arcadia. Bellamy explained as they walked, though, how he had figured out that Octavia was actually the nation’s lost princess, and he the lost prince. Diana, apparently, had been an advisor to the queen, Aurora, and upon finding out about Octavia’s powers had kidnapped her. That night so long ago, Bellamy had caught her in the act, so she had taken him too, casting a spell to make him forget his former life. She had sequestered them in the tower, using Octavia’s powers to keep her young. It wasn’t until they had gotten some distance from Diana that her spell had worn off and he had started to remember.

“I confronted her, and she overpowered us,” he finished. “I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t come.”

“You would’ve escaped.”

Bellamy sighed doubtfully. Octavia, though, just said, “Yeah, I still had my frying pan, after all.”

Clarke chuckled, looking at an amused Bellamy whose arm kept brushing hers as they walked side-by-side.

“So are you coming with us, princess?” He asked quietly as Octavia skipped ahead, no doubt planning how she was going to find Lincoln again.

“For now.”

Bellamy tensed, and she bit back a smile.

“I’ll have to go home, eventually, I suppose,” she continued, feigning nonchalance. “Patch things up with my mother. Resume my position.”

“Oh.”

“A thief can’t marry a prince, after all. A princess, now, that just might be acceptable.”

He stopped dead. “Are you proposing?”

“Are you saying no?” She teased.

Bellamy shook his head, mouth twisting into a wry grin. “I’m starting to regret ever letting you into our tower.”

“You let me in, huh?”

“I let you in, yeah.”

Clarke shivered as his hands rested lightly on her shoulders, sliding up her neck to cup her face.

“Are you going to regret going home?” He asked, brushing his lips against hers.

“No,” she murmured, letting her eyes flutter closed, enjoying his heat surrounding her. “Not when my home is you.”

She closed the distance between them, claiming his mouth in a slow, languid kiss, one that made her pulse race, and her heart flutter, one that was worthy of a happily ever after. 

**Author's Note:**

> This was so fun to write! Come find me on tumblr (kay-emm-gee)!


End file.
